Trump’s second term kicks off with controversy
In the month since his second term as president of the United States began, Donald Trump has taken action on a multitude of issues such as foreign and social policy as well as immigration and the economy. In less than 30 days, Trump’s controversial executive orders, cabinet picks and pardons have shaken up the country and world.
Trump has signed and published 60 executive orders thus far including: renaming the Gulf of Mexico and Mt. Denali to the Gulf of America and Mt. McKinley, declaring male and female the only two recognized genders in the country and exiting the Paris Agreement—an international global warming treaty the convicted felon briefly left during his first term. The twice impeached president has also generated headlines by pardoning January 6th rioters who stormed the Capitol to stop the certification of the 2020 election and for selecting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his Secretary of Health. Kennedy Jr., who has claimed that vaccines cause autism and that black people should receive a different vaccine schedule than white people, was confirmed by the senate on Feb. 12.
Government
Whether his motive is to push conservative policies or to reduce the $36 trillion in national debt, Trump has limited government spending and cut government agencies. Most notably, the president froze federal hiring for most government jobs, removed agency watch dogs and eliminated all government Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs. The elimination of DEI on the federal level has had influence in the private sector; Google and other private companies have gotten rid of DEI programs following Trump’s decision.
Trump has laid off employees and frozen funding for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a government agency that spends over $40 billion annually on humanitarian aid and development funding. Established in 1961, the agency works in 120 countries to prevent child mortality and the spread of diseases worldwide, primarily. The agency provides education, hospitals, clean water and food to developing nations as well.
Elon Musk, who Trump has appointed to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has spearheaded the dismantling of the agency.
“USAID was a viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America,” Musk said on Feb. 2. “Time for it to die.”
The South African billionaire called the humanitarian agency a criminal organization before gaining access to their files and systematically firing employees. Musk’s “shadow government,” as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Shumer called it, has also gained access to sensitive US Treasury and Medicare information.
On Jan. 27, the Trump administration issued a memo freezing potentially trillions of government money disrupting everything from health care to road construction and stopped federal grant programs that serve tens of millions of Americans. The repercussions of this action remain minimal, however, as a federal judge temporarily halted the directive and the Trump administration rescinded it on Jan. 29. Also, Democratic state attorneys general launched a separate lawsuit, citing the constitution to argue against the funding pause.
Trump offered buyouts to 2 million full-time federal workers via email. Federal employees who received the email had until Feb. 6 to reply with the word “resign.” The employees who chose to resign remain on the payroll until Sept. 30 but do not have to work in person and their duties have been reduced or eliminated.
On Feb. 4, the two-term president established his intent to sign an executive order abolishing the National Department of Education. While this will not eliminate the existence of public schools across the country or allow states more freedom over their curriculum, it means schools (especially low-income) could lose a portion of their funding and the processes of applying for student loans and financial aid will be privatized. This action still requires congressional approval, however.
The Economy
Trump has made policy changes in an attempt to live up to his campaign promises of providing cheaper goods and a stronger American economy. For starters, he implemented tariffs on the US’s three largest trading partners: Mexico, China and Canada. While he temporarily paused tariffs on Mexico and Canada after they pledged support to the border, the 10 percent tariffs on China remains. Economists such as Sung Won Sohn, a professor of finance and economics at Loyola Marymount University and Chief Economist at SS Economics, is not in favor of these policies as tariffs historically raise the price of imported goods. In this case, the prices of electronics, clothes, toys and other Chinese-manufactured goods are likely to get more expensive.
“Consumers are going to be clearly worse off,” Won Sohn told CNN. “When you talk about a tariff, it’s an economic war; and in war, everybody loses.”
In retaliation, China has launched an antitrust investigation against Google and announced 15 percent tariffs on US-imported fuels, agricultural machinery and pickup trucks.
Trump is not just in a trade war—the billionaire has made enemies with environmentalists by repealing land protections to expand oil drilling.
“Drill, baby, drill,” Trump said in his inaugural address.
The president declared the country’s energy situation a national emergency and in an executive order repealed Joe Biden’s memo which protected 16 million acres of land on US coasts and Alaska. Though the US is producing more oil and gas than any other country in history, Trump is eager to expand the industry and live up to his promise of cutting Americans’ energy costs in half within a year.
Immigration
On his first day in office, Trump declared the situation on the southern border a national emergency and expressed his intent to finish construction of the border wall. He has sent military personnel to the border and ordered ICE raids around the country. In January, ICE arrested 956 people in a Chicago raid. Trump’s harsh immigration policies have faced pushback, with many refusing to comply. SMMUSD and other school districts have expressed unwillingness to comply with such raids at their schools, stating that kids are entitled to education no matter their background. Superintendent Antonio Shelton released a statement on behalf of the district.
“I want to reassure our community that the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) remains steadfastly committed to ensuring that every student, regardless of their immigration status, has access to a safe, secure and nurturing learning environment,” Shelton said.
Trump’s solutions to immigration reached a new extreme when he put Colombian immigrants on military planes and attempted to drop them off in Colombia. This was an unprecedented response to illegal immigration and prompted the Colombian president to send the planes home. Trump did not back down, however, implementing a 25 percent tariff on Colombian goods that would reach 50 in a week if Colombia did not receive their migrants. Fearing the consequences of a trade war with the US, Colombia yielded and accepted the deportees.
On Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order scheduled to take effect on Feb. 19 to get rid of birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants or immigrants with temporary residence in the US. This action has been delayed, however, by a Seattle judge and 22 states have brought lawsuits upon the Trump administration. This issue will likely go to the Supreme Court where a majority conservative court presides. If the Supreme Court votes in favor of Trump, the birthright policy will be state-by-state.
Foreign Policy
In a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Feb. 4, Trump proposed an unconventional solution to the conflict in Gaza.
"The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too," Trump said. "We'll own it… Create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area. Do a real job. Do something different."
Trump’s Gaza plan means long-term ownership of the region and displacing Palestinians by force, using US troops “if it’s necessary.” Trump has suggested relocating Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan. The Arab nations have rejected this proposal, however.
Back in the States, criticism over the plan has come from both sides of the aisle. Republicans Rand Paul, Thom Tills and Lindsey Graham have expressed uncertainty or resistance to the proposition. Democratic legislators, such as Chris Murphy, have been vocal about their dissent and Texas Democrat Al Green is going as far as to file articles of impeachment over the plan.
“He’s completely lost it,” D-Conn Murphy said. “He wants a US invasion of Gaza, which would cost thousands of American lives and set the Middle East on fire for 20 years? It’s sick.”
In regards to Ukraine, Trump has lost the friendly attitude towards Vladmir Putin and has been pressuring him to make a deal with Volodymyr Zelensky.
“[Putin] should make a deal,” Trump said. “I think he’s destroying Russia by not making a deal. I think Russia is going to be in big trouble.”
Trump made promises on the campaign trail to stop funding and end the war in Ukraine in his first 24 hours. He has continued supporting Ukraine’s war effort but is now asking for rare earth elements from Ukraine in return.